Device for throwing and catching balls



Oct. 30, 1962 D. VON ARNHEM 3,061,311

DEVICE FOR THROWING AND CATCHING BALLS Original Filed Nov. 16, 1955 Fig.1

Jnvenfor: Booty/as Von Arni M: A ftorney.

United States Patent Ofifice 3,06 1,3 1 l Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,061,311 DEVICE FOR THROWING AND CATCHDJG BALLS Douglas von Arnhem, Nollendorferstrasse 10, Berlin 20, Germany Original application Nov. 16, 1955, Ser. No. 547,230, now Patent No. 2,961,239, dated Nov. 22, 1960. Divided and this application Dec. 29, 1959, Ser. No. 862,663 Claims priority, application Great Britain Dec. 3, 1954 1 Claim. (Cl. 27396) This invention relates to a device for throwing and catching balls.

The invention has among its principal objects to provide a device by which a ball may be caught reliably, and the ball caught will rest firmly in a ring, so that a very precisely aimed subsequent thrust of the ball can be achieved as the ball is easily released from its support.

This is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 547,230, filed on November 16, 1955, now US. Patent 2,961,239.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following specification and in part will be obvious therefrom without being specifically referred to, the same being realized and attained as pointed out in the claim hereof.

With the above and other objects of the invention in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of various devices, elements and parts, as set forth in the claim hereof, an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the specification.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be best understood from the following description of an exemplification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a device for use in throwing and catching a ball in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof.

In carrying the invention into effect in the embodiment which has been selected for illustration in the accompanying drawings and for description in this specification, and there is provided a device of the character mentioned that has two handles 1 each comprising a striking plate, at the outer ends of which there is provided a ring 2. The inner edge 3 of each ring 2 is of circular form and its diameter is smaller than the diameter of a ball 4 to be caught.

At the ends remote from the rings 2, the handles 1 are inter-connected, for instance by a hinge 5, so as to be tiltable towards and from each other and foldable together. On the handles 1, adjacent the hinge 5, there are provided gripping arrangements 6 for the fingers of a hand. The two handles 1 are furthermore connected with one another not far from the hinge 5 by a short stringv '7 which prevents excessively wide separation of the rings 2 when the handles 1 are tilted apart about the hinge axis.

Small opposite notches 8 are formed in each handle 1 in which there may be engaged a rubber band 9, to hold the ball 4 between the rings 2, for storage.

With the aforedescribed embodiment, the ball can be caught between the two rings 2 as in tongs while, alternatively, furthermore with the handles 1 folded together, the ball can be caught and thrown back with one ring 2 only. I

I Wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

A device, for use in throwing and catching a ball, comprising two substantially similarly shaped elongated handles, each including a rim portion defining a circular opening having a diameter smaller than that of the ball, said handles being tiltable relative to each other, about an axis at right angles to the axis of either opening, between a closed position wherein the two handles are superposed and the circular openings thereof are in close superposition and alignment and in registry enabling the catching and throwing of the ball with the part of a rim portion at the outside of either of the two superposed handles and, respectively, an open position wherein the handles form an acute angle relative to each other enabling the catching and throwing of the ball with the part of the rim portions on the inside of both handles, the handles acting as tongs, hinge means interconnecting the handles near the ends thereof remote from said openings, and a gripping means formed on the outside of each handle near the hinge, the gripping means of both handles being operable to be gripped simultaneously by a single hand of the player for holding said handles in either position and for tilting them between said positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,156,047 Behrend Oct. 12, 1915 1,560,026 Dickson Nov. 3, 1925 2,021,472 Woge NOV. 19, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 482,496 Germany Sept. 23, 1929 

